ISA Study Abroad in San Jose, Costa Rica

I became a more adventurous, independent, confident individual after studying abroad in San Jose, Costa Rica with ISA. I had so many opportunities to explore beaches and volcanoes, snorkel and whale watch, and participate in cultural immersion experiences. I got to try and learn how to cook many traditional Latin American dishes, take tropical dance classes, and learn about Costa Rican history. ISA was super supportive in guiding me to begin and move through this journey, and I would not have changed my experience for the world.

I really enjoyed the aspect of being in a country that has a very different culture to that of the US or Europe but still have the support I felt like I needed to be comfortable in that environment. It was an incredibly immersive experience where I made incredible friends and enjoyed myself greatly. San Jose is a rough city but once you get out into the country it is absolutely beautiful and the culture is incredibly welcoming and kind.

The amount of excursions in this area is astounding. You can go ziplining in the cloud forests of Monteverde, scuba diving in Puerto Viejo or anything in between!

My month in Costa Rica was a trip to remember! I loved my homestay family and the friends I made with other students in my program. My Spanish skills improved by leaps and bounds. My Spanish class supported my learning in fun and engaging ways, and living with a host family gave my the opportunity to practice my skills in the real world. I loved the opportunity to travel around the country on the weekends. I got to spend time on both coasts and make a trip to Arenal Valcano. I can't wait for my next opportunity to travel to Costa Rica!

I loved the process of studying abroad with ISA starting from applying, getting credits approved, being in Costa Rica, and even coming back. Applying was easy by doing it online and ISA's employees consistently checked in on me while I was deciding. Their options for Spanish-speaking countries with classes that would transfer back to my school were great. Other options from other programs kept me from studying abroad with them. Being in Costa Rica was also the most fun summer I've had. I learned so much about the culture because of the cultural activities ISA had for us. We walked to the Jade Museum in San Jose, and I thought that was a nice touch because that's probably how locals get there (because it was so close, unless they had a car). I also did service-learning, which helped me get to know other locals from different backgrounds. When I returned to the US, I even chose to become a Global Ambassador so that I can speak about my study abroad experience with my fellow students and convince them to go with ISA!

My time studying abroad with ISA in Costa Rica is still one of the highlights of my life, and it's been over five years since I was there. The ISA team was very helpful leading up to my departure, upon arrival, and throughout the three months of the program. I always felt cared for, and enjoyed interacting with the fun, on-site staff members. There were so many great people in my program, too! I've been lucky enough to stay in touch with my best friends from the program, and we've traveled all over the USA to visit each other.

Costa Rica is a fantastic country for people who want to practice Spanish, since Costa Ricans speak a very "clean," easy to understand version of the language. The only downside of studying in San Jose, rather than some of ISA's other options in Costa Rica, is that many locals speak English - and there are plenty of English-speaking students as well. It's not as immersive of an experience as a smaller town would be. Apart from that, Costa Rica is incredibly beautiful, full of outdoor activities, and easy to travel around. I'd recommend this experience to anyone!

A few months before I graduated I was struck with the paralyzing anxiety that life as I knew it was over and I would soon be entering into a decades long career that offered no flexibility, little vacation time, and zero opportunities for me to travel ever again. Ok, so I was being a little dramatic, but regardless, in that moment I resolved to delay my career for a few short months and instead, I flew to Costa Rica the day after commencement and spent two months studying Spanish, living with a local family and traveling throughout Central America. I chose the ISA Intensive Spanish program because it was incredibly affordable and placed an emphasis on language and culture immersion, something that I value when it comes to meaningful travel experiences. The ISA Staff were very attentive and supportive of my needs but not overbearing or intrusive. Costa Rica is a great country for solo-travelers and people who want to learn Spanish. I found the culture to be very welcoming to outsiders, easy to navigate and friendly. As a female traveler, I felt safe, I felt welcome, I felt comfortable in going outside of my zone to learn new things and engage with new people.

Choosing to study abroad in Costa Rica offers such a unique experience. While in Europe you have the chance to visit a multitude of countries, in Costa Rica you spend the time seeing the individual country itself. I learned to appreciate everything this place has to offer. I learned so much about the culture, the geography, the history, and the Spanish language. Every weekend was a new adventure. Not to mention, Costa Rica is "the happiest country in the world" and it showed through interactions with the locals. ISA's program made it super affordable and it was worth every penny.

These four months were a BLAST! ISA does a great job at ensuring that all of the participants stay safe and have a great time. The classes were a good challenge but not too time consuming. I never felt like they were getting in the way of my study abroad experience.

I had the opportunity to do an amazing internship with Fundacion Rahab, an NGO that helps women who were the victims of sex trafficking. This is a field that I have always been extremely interested in, so getting this opportunity was pretty big for me. I did a lot of fundraising for Fundacion, in addition to working on their budget. I became pretty close with the founder, and one day after my work was done she took me along to meeting she had with the Chilean ambassador and his wife!

ISA plans a few included weekend excursions which were a little nicer than our other weekends, which were usually spent in $15/night hostels (completely our choice). The included excursions were at three or four star hotels, and were a good way to get to know other students on the program.

I would have liked more activities that helped the program immerse more in the Costa Rican culture. In retrospect, I wish I had made more local friends but wasn't quite old enough at the time to have the confidence it takes to branch out like that. Additionally, I had a pretty tough home stay situation that I wish had been fixed earlier. My roommate and I reached out to ISA about our complaints, and no serious steps were taken to address them. Finally, we were moved out our final week for a few days. The good news is I don't think they'll be using that host home anymore, and no one else seemed to have any issues with host homes.

Overall, such a fun four months. ISA definitely understands the types of students that are coming to Costa Rica for a semester abroad and does a great job catering the experience to them.